


falling from the sky in pieces

by groundopenwide



Series: Nick!POV [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 14:45:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/724479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/groundopenwide/pseuds/groundopenwide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian comes to Nick for some advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	falling from the sky in pieces

"Can I ask you something?"

It's a Thursday night, and Nick is sprawled across his bed on his stomach, worn copy of  _Catcher in the Rye_  open in front of him. His eyes lift immediately when Sebastian speaks, reading glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose as he looks up. Somewhat self-consciously, he adjusts the frames on his face (he isn't used to wearing them very often; he'd rather suffer through the pain of straining his eyes than look like a complete nerd) and glances over at his roommate, his eyebrows furrowing in question.

"Uh...I guess?" Nick answers hesitantly. His mind is already running amuck with the possible things Sebastian could want to know, and his stomach clenches in wait.

Meanwhile, Sebastian spins around in his desk chair to face Nick completely, his expression pensive. His forehead has a slight wrinkle in it, lips pursed in thought, and the overall appearance is kind of...adorable.

But Nick isn't going there right now.

A long moment passes, and then Sebastian says slowly, "what do you know about...dating?"

Ah.

Nick fumbles to push himself up into a sitting position, shoving his book to the side and removing his glasses before meeting Sebastian's gaze. The other boy still looks almost...unsure. It's something Nick isn't accustomed to seeing. Of every emotion that's ever flitted across Sebastian's features, nervousness hasn't been a common one.

"Dating?" Nick repeats.

Sebastian merely gives him a pointed look that screams,  _don't make me say it again._

"I...well," Nick stutters out, the words all seeming to jumble together on his tongue. Sebastian's question has left him floundering for two reasons: he's never asked Nick for  _anything_ , and more importantly, Sebastian  _doesn't date._

There could only be one explanation for this, and the thought has Nick glancing absently over to the picture on his roommate's nightstand.

"I...don't know much, I guess. I've only had a few girlfriends, nothing really that serious."

"What about boyfriends?"

Nick's head snaps up again, only to find Sebastian gazing at him intently, his eyes knowing.

This entire conversation has Nick feeling more than a little cornered.

"N-no boyfriends," he chokes out, dropping his eyes down to his lap. He hears Sebastian hum thoughtfully in response, before the sound of sheets rustling filters his way, and then soft footsteps are padding across the room until they stop right in front of Nick's bed.

"Hypothetically, then, let's say you wanted to ask a boy out on a date," Sebastian begins, remaining hovering over Nick's seated form. His voice is the epitome of nonchalance, expression completely neutral and giving nothing away. Generally, Nick is able to see through this facade (months of observing have left him quite an expert in the area of Sebastian's hidden emotions), but he is so caught up in his own anxiety that nothing is really comprehending right now.

"The thing is, you've never really been on an actual  _date_ ," Sebastian continues, "so you're pretty clueless. And it doesn't help that this boy is just starting to trust you, and you're afraid that taking things further might have you fucking up again."

It's a bit difficult to digest the fact that Sebastian Smythe is asking for his advice on how to ask out one Blaine Anderson. Sebastian, who oozes confidence and sensuality, is nervous about going on something as simple as a date. In any other situation, Nick might laugh, but he knows that Sebastian is dead serious about this. He wants to make things with Blaine work.

"Hypothetically?" Nick clarifies, and Sebastian darts his eyes away somewhat sheepishly as he fidgets on the spot. "I think...I would just have to give it a shot, you know? If I was so worried about screwing everything up all the time, I wouldn't really be  _living_. If said boy really meant that much to me, I would just try my damnedest to show him. Even when the occasion arose that I did mess up, I'd find a way to fix it, because I know that relationships don't come easy. They're work. But it sounds like, in this case, I'd be willing to put in the effort."

Nick's spiel is punctuated by his gaze focusing meaningfully on Sebastian, who seems to absorb each word carefully, his features eventually shifting into a look that Nick is actually familiar with.

Remorse.

His roommate lowers himself precariously onto the edge of Nick's bed, hands clasped together in his lap, and Nick just watches, waits for him to respond.

"He doesn't deserve to get fucked over by me," Sebastian murmurs. "He's so much better than that."

"Sebastian," Nick replies quietly, and hesitates only a brief second before reaching out to place a palm reassuringly on the boy's shoulder. "You aren't a bad guy, okay? I want you to start believing that. Everyone makes mistakes, but it's how we make up for them that counts."

Sebastian is silent beside him. Nick finds his eyes trailing across the sharp angles of the boy's profile, the lines of his jaw and the curve of his nose. He's so beautiful, yet so  _broken_. A tragedy that Nick wants desperately fix.

He's beginning to realize, though, that maybe Sebastian just needs to fix himself.

However, a nudge in the right direction can't hurt.

"Listen to me," Nick urges, and waits until Sebastian slowly turns to face him. "I can tell you as many times as I want that you aren't as awful as you think you are, but if you don't tell yourself the same, you're never going to start believing it."

The smallest tick is visible in Sebastian's jaw as he glances away, shoulders drawing in on themselves slightly. "You have no idea-"

"You're right, I don't," Nick interrupts, and Sebastian instantly falls silent. "But we keep going around in circles and coming right back to this. I  _care_ , Sebastian. I haven't been following your every move for months now out of a simple curiosity. I care a lot more than I should, but when it comes down to it, I'm not going to let you keep doing this. You deserve to be happy, to stop torturing yourself. And I think Blaine could be the first step in helping you do that."

He isn't going to back down this time. The idea has to penetrate Sebastian's thick skull  _somehow_ , and Nick is tired. He's tired of watching helplessly, doing what little he can to get his roommate to see. He wants Sebastian to smile everyday like he had that afternoon Blaine came to visit, wants his eyes to crinkle up at the corners and his cheeks to flush red in amusement. Because Sebastian really does deserve that. He deserves everything. And Nick will, without hesitation, shove his own feelings onto the back burner if it means finally convincing his roommate that he  _matters_.

Because he does matter.

Sebastian's hushed voice cuts through his thoughts a moment later, a single word uttered into the space between them. "Duval."

And then Nick is being wrapped up between a pair of strong, firm arms, the scent of Sebastian's cologne invading his senses as his face is pressed to the crook of the boy's neck. It takes a strangely long moment for Nick to realize that Sebastian is  _hugging_  him, that he actually initiated it and isn't letting go. The warm feeling that spreads throughout every inch of Nick's body after he arrives to the conclusion settles over him, and he finally raises his own arms to return the embrace, the steady flutter of Sebastian's pulse against his cheek keeping him grounded.

He isn't really sure what this means. It feels a lot like  _I'm sorry_  and  _thank you_  and  _you shouldn't care but I'm glad you do_  all rolled into one. And Nick revels in it.

It's no surprise that he never wants to let go.

Despite that, he mumbles, "you should call Blaine."

And, moments later, comes Sebastian's quiet but determined reply. "Yeah. I think I will."


End file.
